Freekeh salad

The basic rule for cooking freekeh is twice as much boiling water to freekeh and add a pinch of salt, cook it in the microwave for about 10 minutes, then cover it and let it stand for another five or so minutes. Whole grain freekeh takes a bit longer to cook.

Rinse lentils and in a saucepan bring lentils and water to the boil, cover and cook on low for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once cooked, let them stand 15 minutes or so to soften, then roughly puree about half of them or so.

Cook onion, carrot and celery in a little bit of olive oil until soft, then add the garlic and cook another minute or two.

Mix all ingredients together, season to taste and spoon glaze over the top.

Cook for around 45 minutes at 180°C

risotto with caramelised onions, mushrooms and chickpeas

1 tablespoon of olive oil1 onion, finely sliced1 cup of mushrooms, sliced1 clove of garlic, minced1 cup of Arborio rice⅓ cup of white wine5 or 6 cups of hot chicken stock½ cup of chickpeassalt and pepper to tasteparsley or other herbs of choice

Directions

Heat oil in a large pan over medium to low heat, add onion and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, just until it begins to caramelize. Add mushrooms and cook about 5 more minutes until the mushrooms are soft and the onions are good and caramelized. Stir in garlic and rice and continue stirring until the rice is completely coated, about 1 minute. Pour in wine and simmer until it has just about evaporated.

Begin adding stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring until each cup is absorbed. The rice should be creamy but not mushy. Add chickpeas once you're happy with the texture and warm until the chickpeas are just heated through. Add salt, pepper, and chopped parsley (or other herbs of choice) to taste.

pumpkin, rocket and chickpea salad

Soak chickpeas in 2 cups of water overnight, drain, rinse and place in a saucepan with 2 cups of fresh water seasoned with salt and pepper, bring to boil, remove lid and simmer gently until they're tender (about an hour) – drain and allow to cool.

Deseed pumpkin and dice to a little larger than 1 centimetre, roast in a little olive oil until tender, drain on paper towel and allow to cool.

Toss all ingredients together and dress with a little olive oil whisked together with lemon juice